Saturday, March 10, 2012

Phew, I've done it -- I've jumped back onto the blog-wagon! Alright...so maybe it's a bit premature to celebrate when it's my first recipe post in weeks. But I'm the kind of writer who considers the first page the hardest. So let's just say I have good reason to expect smoother sailing from here on out 8).

Part of the delay lay in the history behind this unassuming cake. It was, in fact, the first cake I fell in love with. We met freshman year of college, when my roommate brought her mom's famous "booze cake" back to our dorm. Dense and unbelievably moist, every bite of it brought a warm kick of coffee liqueur against a milder backdrop of chocolate. It was pure heaven. But alas, this was before I started baking, blogging, or even drinking alcohol [legally at least *cough* haha], so I didn't think to ask for the recipe.

Seven (yes, seven) years and countless Google searches for "booze cake" later, I asked my friend on a whim if her mom still had the recipe. Within a few days, there it was! Just sitting in my inbox (like magic)! I suppose that was my rather drawn-out lesson that I should just try to ask when I really want something ^_^.

My work wasn't done yet, though. It turned out that the (ultimately not that) elusive "booze cake," better known online as "Black Russian Cake," required not only a lot of the "good stuff" (i.e., coffee liqueur and vodka), but also cake mix and instant pudding mix. It's a personal commitment of mine to make my desserts from scratch whenever possible. Thus, with the virtual guidance of like-minded bakers, I successfully reverse-engineered a from-scratch version of my First (Cake) Love. I hope you'll find it as unforgettable as I did!

XIAOLU'S NOTES: I actually made a 1/2 batch of this recipe using an 8-inch wide Bundt pan. Aside from halving all the ingredients, the only change I made was to reduce the baking time to 35 to 45 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out mostly clean (a few moist crumbs are fine).

3 Tbsp unsalted butter2 Tbsp water6 Tbsp granulated sugarPinch of salt6 Tbsp coffee-flavored liqueur (such as Kahlua OR Homemade Recipe below)***you can use up to 1/2 cup liqueur if you like your booze cakes to be well-soakedSifted powdered sugar, to garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 10 to 15-cup Bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, dry milk powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and white sugar. Add the butter, oil, milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and beat with an electric mixer on medium the batter is smooth and uniform. Add the eggs, and continue beating until well incorporated (no more than 1 minute). Finally, add the vodka and coffee liqueur, then mix until evenly combined.

Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 25 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Let cool for 30 more minutes.

While the cake cools, wash and thoroughly dry the Bundt pan then prepare the syrup. In a large saucepan with high sides, combine the butter, water, granulated sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the butter completely melts and the sugar dissolves. Let reduce slightly, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over. Remove from the heat and stir in the coffee liqueur (it may bubble).

Quickly place the clean pan over the cool cake and invert the cake back into the pan. While the syrup is still warm, poke holes across the top of the cake with a toothpick or fork and brush/pour the syrup evenly over the cake. Let soak for at least 4 hours (ideally, overnight), then invert the cake back onto a serving platter, sift powdered sugar on top (if desired), and dig in! Keeps covered for about 1 week at room temperature.

Stir water, sugar, molasses, and coffee powder together in a medium to large saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure the sugar and instant coffee powder dissolve completely. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, being careful to stir as it’s cooling to avoid crystallization of the sugar. Add vanilla and vodka. If you notice any grains of undissolved sugar, you can strain them out using a fine-mesh strainer. Bottle and cap tightly, then store in a cool, dry place. If using the vanilla bean, allow the liqueur to develop for 3 to 5 weeks, then strain out the bean, re-bottle, and enjoy straight or in recipes calling for coffee liqueurs such as Kahlua. If using vanilla extract, let the liqueur rest for at least 1 full day to allow the flavors to meld before drinking.

Thanks, Vera! It felt really really weird photographing again after almost a month away hehe. Still trying to get my groove back. You should try the cake, it is moist and flavorful. Obviously not very kid-friendly, though 8).

Beautiful cake indeed, but I have to say homemade Kahula is what is really grabbing my attention right now!! Its a recent new found love of mine and might well have to try that awesome looking recipe of yours :) Looking forward to many more posts from you :D

I ALWAYS avoid recipes that call for ridiculous things like pudding and cake mix also. If I can't make it from scratch then I figure I don't really need to make it. I obviously need to make this though. I do love a good black russian after all!

Funny thing is that I've never had an actual Black Russian drink! Maybe if I had, I'd have known what the name of the cake was ;p. Still, it's mighty delicious just mixing my extra homemade Kahlua with milk and/or cream. Like a spiked iced coffee a bit...

This looks and sounds so great, I pinned it already to make it soon. And thanks for including the recipe for the Kaluah, I often don't make recipes, because I don't want to buy a big bottle of a special booze, which I then don't use anymore.

I made your cake two days ago, and it's gone already! It's moist, it's tasty, it's so unique, and my extremely picky and non-sweet-toothed boyfriend sang its praises and begged for more. I'll be making this again and again.

I really appreciate that you wrote such a clear and easy-to-follow recipe, too -- those can be awfully hard to find on food blogs. Excellent work!

Hi there! Thanks so much for coming back by to let me know that you and your boyfriend enjoyed the cake =D. I do purposefully write or re-write all recipes I post to be as clear as possible so that beginners as well as more advanced bakers won't need to do any guesswork. Thus I'm really happy to hear that people are enjoying that aspect of my recipes, because I often worry that the length of all those details will scare you guys away. Again, thank you so much for your feedback -- you've helped to brighten up a difficult week.

Hi there! Thanks for the comment. Sorry for the delay in response as I just got back from out of town. I think you'll probably be fine leaving the milk powder out. I definitely wouldn't recommend adding in more milk liquid since that would throw off the liquid/dry ingredient balance of the cake. If you try it, please let me know how it goes! If you're really worried, perhaps substitute half of the liquid milk in the recipe with evaporated milk which should have more dry milk solid content. Good luck! -XL